Special clinic held at PEH for ‘sick’ bicycles to be checked

Co-owner Dan Thwaite was on hand for two hours to give free basic checks including on brakes, chain and tyres to encourage islanders to consider different methods of transport and promote safe cycling.

The initiative came at the end of Alternative Transport Week, which was held last week.

The Health Improvement Commission funded the initiative, run in collaboration with the hospital, by paying for Mr Thwaite’s time.

‘We wanted to get rid of some of the barriers and blocks that some people may have to getting active as they might think their bike is not roadworthy,’ said HIC active travel officer Alex Costen.

‘Cycling is a relatively low cost and accessible way of travelling around the island, with the benefit of improving physical and mental health and well-being, but also helping to reduce traffic on our roads.’

In the first hour, 15 islanders turned up, with that number rapidly increasing as the clinic went on.

Among those was Nye Matthew who works across all medical wards at the PEH.

He cycles to work every day and when his bike was checked over, an issue with the seat was noticed and fixed.

‘I love cycling – it gets my heartbeat up in the morning and it’s stress free,’ said Mr Matthew.

Paul Blackmore works as a reconciliation and currency officer for the States and cycles three times a week.

While there were no problems with his bike, he was happy to have taken the time to get it checked out.

‘It’s great from a safety point of view, cycling is great because it gives me a lot of freedom.'

The scheme, last held in 2021, was run with an added aim to ease pressure on the struggling hospital car park.

It followed a recent event, organised by the Health Improvement Commission, aimed at making cycling more accessible in Guernsey, with adapted bikes, lower-cost options and balance bikes for children showcased at Beau Sejour last month.